As The Wall Street Journal reported earlierMicrosoft kicked off what is expected to be an extensive marketing campaign for Windows 8, the company’s high-stakes effort to overhaul its flagship operating system. A slew of new computers and tablets are rolling out that run on Windows 8, which is designed to work on touchscreen devices and traditional computers with keyboards and mice.

The Microsoft ad, which aired Sunday during NFL games, showcases some touchscreen computers from the company’s computer-making allies, including Acer, Samsung, Lenovo and Sony.

The ad starts with a countdown clock (stopping at 8, of course) and includes rapid-fire images of Windows 8’s touch interface and a gray, chunky laptop that is destroyed–a bit evocative of Apple’s iconic “1984” ad, during which an athlete throws a sledgehammer through a droning Big Brother image then widely associated with IBM.

The last images shown in the ad are a tagline, “Windows Reimagined,” and the date Oct. 26, the official launch for Windows 8-powered computers.

What isn’t shown: A glimpse of the Surface, Microsoft’s foray into making its own computing device. Microsoft has been ultra-secretive about the tablet-style computer with a detachable keyboard, which has become a controversial point because it competes with devices sold by Microsoft customers. The Surface is expected to get a grand entrance when Microsoft launches Windows 8 at a New York event Oct. 25.